The Séamus Weekly - week 14

This is a pretty big week for sweet Séamus.  He turned 3 months old and he is celebrating Halloween for the first time!!

I am in disbelief that on this day, just one short year ago, our little man was just a tiny 4 day old embryo chillin in a petri dish!!  Thomas took the girls out for Trick or Treating while I stayed home and just relaxed awaiting our very very big day.  

We had our five day transfer done on November 1st, 2017.  Séamus was our top embryo, earning a nearly perfect rating!!  and that has continued on because I have to say...he is still perfectly perfect.

Eats: little man is still exclusively on the boob.  He has gotten a bit distracted this past week during his nursing sessions, he'll nurse a little bit then pull off and give me the biggest grin...I adore it while also just want him to eat!!  My let down is much heavier in the middle of the night, maybe that's why he is still waking up twice in the middle of the night for it??

Sleeps: when he gets to be swaddled an in his SnuggleMe (after I've sprayed it with sleep spray) in his room, with the sound machine going he will take a solid nap.  He still sleeps in the car seat - which is great but I'm hoping to switch him into a convertible car seat this week, so it's time to work on the transfers.  Nighttime sleep is hit or miss.  The past several days he has been extra fussy right before bedtime so what I have been doing is putting a couple of drops of Peace and Calming II on my hands and rub on his swaddle and my shoulder.

Goes: I don't think that Séamus has ventured to anywhere new this week.  We did attend the Harvest Fest at Ellie's school this weekend and he slept his way through it.  We've also just been to the usual suspects: grocery store, school, home, and the car.

Wears: we busted out the Halloween clothes this week and he is filling out the 0-3 month clothes very well.  I'm thinking it's almost time to start putting him into some 3-6 clothes.  I am not even sure if we managed to get through our entire 0-3 stockpile!!  He is still wearing size 1 diapers.

Does: Séa is a total tummy time champ.  He's even started bringing his knees up under his belly so we might have ourselves and early crawler 🙏.  He has amazing head control, loves to look around and observe and we have been working hard on his core muscles getting him to sit up.  I just know that it's a whole new world once they can do that and they really are so much happier once they can sit!  We also carved our pumpkins this week, I sprayed the inside with Thieves household cleaner to preserve them longer and we used these punches to make the faces!!

Mama: I hit a new rank in my business this week, which is so incredibly exciting!  It's given me more motivation to keep on going and has really validated my desire to help bring wellness into the homes of friends, family, and acquaintances.  The more I learn about oils and toxin free products the more thankful I am to have them and the more I want to share them with everyone!!  I have also been trying to be super mindful of all the stages that Séamus and the girls are in because I know that these moments are fleeting and Séamus is the last.  His giggles and coos give me life, Finnley's obsession and desire to be next to him bring me great joy, and Ellie's willingness to help and desire to love on both of them is everything to me.  I am also just really remembering back to this time last year, when life was full of hormone injections, follicle studies, ultrasounds, and desire that our pipedream would become a reality.  I really had no idea what I was getting myself into, I was so hopeful yet still so very guarded.  I prepared myself for the worst and tried to not get too attached, to any of it.  Thankfully, our last ditch effort of IVF worked!! And here he is in all of his 3 month glory!!

Sisters: Finnley's vocabulary is blossoming.  She loves to grab the Boppy, climb up onto the couch and announce that she is ready to hold the baby.  She calls him Séa Baby, has picked him up and carried him on several occasions (including dropping him on his face when she got caught....), she plays with him, squeals in his face, laughs so hard, and just wants to poke his eyeballs out...the classic 2 year old.

Ellie is totally rocking it at school.  We got her school photos back this week and she absolutely nailed it.  She is constantly kissing Séa's head, wanting to hold him and has yet to pick him up.  She makes silly faces and really cannot control herself when she is overwhelmed with love for him, she will hug him no matter what!  She still wants to include Finnley in all the things and is truly the best big sister I could have ever dreamed of having.  It's because of her that I love 5 year olds!

previous weeks:

Séamus week 1, week 2, week 3, week 4, week 5, week 6, week 7, week 8, week 9, week 10, week 11, week 12, 13 weeks

Finnley at 14 weeks

Ellie at 14 weeks

♥ Ashley

Welcome Séamus Murphy!!

He's here!! He's finally here!

After a long 9 years, 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant this sweet nugget finally made his appearance!  He somehow knew that he was the only one and wanted to make sure that I got to experience all the labor options 😉 and that we knew that "He's kind of a Big Deal" which of course we don't need any reminding of that!

Our Sweet Boy

Séamus Murphy
July 25, 2018
6 lbs 8 oz
20 inches
via C-Section

More details on his labor and delivery soon.  We're just over the moon here welcoming our first bio-babe into the family and the first boy on Thomas' family side!!!


♥ Ashley

The Monthly Bumpdate - weeks 34-37

Hello July!! We made it to Baby Month 👊 it's incredible how quickly this pregnancy has gone considering we've been waiting nearly 10 years for it.

I've been nesting and crossing things off the list.  All of the bedrooms finally have baseboard (that matches the rest of the house) including the nursery, we filled in all the extra nail holes and I finished doing all the touch up paint around the house because obviously all of that is necessary. We still haven't moved the girls into their room together but Ellie is sleeping well on the top bunk and we're hoping to get Finnley in there this week.

How far along: 37 weeks!!

Size of baby: my apps say the size of a Winter Melon

Weight gain: just around 30 lbs

Sleep: overall sleep has been pretty good thanks to this awesome pillow.  I have had a few nights where sleep hasn't been the best, dreams have been vivid and I'm starting the frequent the bathroom much more.

Cravings: same as last month but I've been craving sweets lately: cookies, ice cream, pies you name it.  I also still love all the pastas and spicy foods.

Miss anything: just the ability to easily maneuver around and getting in and out of the car.  I also would love to have an afternoon coffee...

Movement: YES!! He is moving all around and most of it feel like rolling on the top of my belly.  He is also super low and getting lots of cervical pressure.

Gender: BOY!! We're pretty stuck on a name but then just the other day Thomas threw in a wrench and suggested an alternative...why is this so hard?!!

Wedding rings on/off: still on and fit about the same as they have the past couple of months even with the heat we've been experiencing.  Hopefully I can hold out and wear them the whole time which would be awesome 😉.

Happy or Moody: actually I think I've been a lot less moody this past month!  I have been nesting and putting a lot of focus on trying to finish up some projects around the house, which is helping to keep me busy but also feel accomplished.

Looking forward to: getting to meet this sweet boy that we've been waiting nearly 10 years for!!  I can't believe we're getting so close and he is almost here!

Next appointment: my appointments are weekly now, so this week and next week and the next, unless he makes an early arrival (fingers crossed)!!

Previous Bumpdates:
June
May
April
March
February
January
December 

♥ Ashley

Oh Boy it's Fri-Yay!!!! plans for my birthday, home decor and other updates

Friday is here which means we are at the very beginning of "Green Week" in celebration of my Birthday and St. Patrick's Day which is next Saturday!  So what we do is we dress in green every day to show our Irish Pride.  I'd love to see your green and how you celebrate.

ONE

Speaking of my birthday, I don't really have any big plans.  I'm turning 34, I'm pregnant, tired, and all I really want to do is take a nap!  We are heading out to lunch with my dad at a local Irish restaurant and then my BFF is coming over for dinner and cake (which I'm making).  I just want to spend the day with my family and hopefully getting a few projects crossed off the list.

TWO

We've got all our St. Patrick's Day decor up (see last year's decor) and I have a St. Patrick's Day station playing on Pandora through our Echo Dot.  She's so nice to have, but Ellie got to talking to her the other and claimed she was Thomas and began the Voice Recognition process...so now Alexa thinks that Thomas sounds like a 4 year old girl 😂.  Thankfully she's not set up to purchase anything for us so we're hopefully in the clear.  However, Ellie adores Alexa and is always telling me that Alexa's head is in the clouds!! Haha

THREE

We haven't done our St. Pat's Day art yet but I have big plans to get it done this weekend.  I always find myself stocking up on the 8x10 canvas at Michaels when they have a sale (I've got quite the collection now) so that the girls can get their paint on for the holidays.  My favorites are Valentines, St. Pats, and Christmas.  Just this year I decided to display their previous year's work in their rooms and Ellie is over the moon seeing her artwork up on the walls.  Finnley seems to be quite into the artwork as well and it's so fun to see what she comes up with.  We usually do shades of green and the girls tend to do more abstract art and then I go over it with a gold to give it some more holiday flare.

FOUR

This past month I've been getting paperwork together to sign Ellie up for Kindergarten!! Our home school district isn't the best so I had to do some extra steps to waiver her into a neighboring district...which means she's going to miss out on riding the school bus and not have neighborhood friends from school.  Which I'm totally used to since my parents sent me to private school and all my friends lived in a different city than I did.  It was so exciting to get the email that she was approved to waiver and then to do all the paperwork for Kindergarten.  She still has some improvements to make sure she is 100% Kindergarten ready (so I have a spot reserved for her preschool again) but I have high hopes that the next few months will prove to be full of growth for her.  I love the prospect of her going to Kindergarten for full days because I think its going to be so good for her, and bonus points she is so excited to go to Kinder, and it will be nice to have some one on one time with Finnley while the babe sleeps all day 🙏.

FIVE

Speaking of the babe, I know y'all are dying to learn the gender.  And today is the day I'm going to share it with you!!!  I've known for quite some time that I wanted Disney to play a part in our eventual pregnancy and I loved having the opportunity to make our pregnancy announcement from the parks.  

Now I get to do it again and have the help of Disney to announce the gender of our sweet little nugget!!  We found out the day before we left what we were having and I got to start my plan the minute our feet hit the ground in California.  Our first order of business was to get a balloon...but then we learned that with the construction they were doing in DL that the characters weren't out and about on Main Street USA and we'd have to visit them in their homes in ToonTown with a wait of over 90 minutes - not happening.  So I brainstormed and tried to come up with an alternative so we made our way to City Hall and picked up some buttons for the fam.  On day 3 of our visit the walls were down on Main Street and the character's were out!!  We donned our appropriate Mouse wear, brought the balloon and buttons with us.  We learned what time our Mouse of choice would be out and made sure to arrive before that so we could get in line.  While we were waiting...our balloon got loose and flew away!! I was distraught and pissed and went on a search for the balloon guy only to learn that they wouldn't be out for another SIX hours!!!  Thankfully one of the cast members went behind the scenes and was able to retrieve our beloved balloon just in time for our Mouse to come out!!  We were first in line and got some great shots! Enjoy!

Mickey noticed my button right away and was so congratulatory!  He made sure to make a big deal with both of the girls and it was just everything I had hoped!!  Even Finnley was on board and willing to interact with Mickey sans tears!!

So if you couldn't guess, we are having a BOY!!! the first (and quite possibly only) boy in Thomas family, immediate and extended.  We are over the moon to continue the Parsons legacy and to bring a whole new dynamic to family gatherings!  Ellie is super excited to have a brother and can't keep herself from telling anyone we come in contact with.  When we found out at the ultrasound she exclaimed "I always wanted a brother!!" Finnley gives the belly kisses on the daily and has absolutely no idea what happening.

♥ Ashley

in case you missed it:

Monday I posted the latest Bumpdate

Thursday I posted tips on guessing the gender

The Monthly Bumpdate - IVF details through 8 weeks

Ever since I started this blog I have dreamed of writing Bumpdates!! And here I am nearly 10 years later and I finally get to post my very first one.  In case you missed it I announced our very first uterine pregnancy here on Friday and be sure to follow me on Instagram for quick updates.

week 8

For this very first Bumpdate I'm going to go into a little bit more detail since I have to cover 8 weeks.  With IVF I actually had to start on Birth Control since we had a vacation planned and we weren't quite ready to start with all the injections.  After about 2 weeks of BC I then started my nightly injections of Gonal F and Menopur, after about a week I then added in my morning injection of Cetrotide.  Meanwhile I had to go in for multiple blood tests and Follicle Study Ultrasounds.  I actually had to go one extra day of injections so I had to call in for a same day delivery of my meds and then go in again the next day for another ultrasound before I got the go ahead to give myself my trigger shot of Novarel which is an intramuscular shot you inject into your butt.  That was the shot I was most anxious and nervous about and in reality it was the easiest and least painful of all the injections I had to self administer.

 nightly injections

minimal bruising

one of many blood draws

trigger shot location

trigger shot

36 hours after my trigger shot we went in bright and early for me to have surgery for the egg retrieval.  We got to the surgery center super early so we got to wait and go about the whole thing at a relatively leisurely pace (which was such a stark contrast from my two previous emergency surgeries due to ectopic ruptures) until it was time to get things moving.  As far as I know the retrieval went smoothly and they were able to get 7 eggs!  Of the seven, 6 were mature and were fertilized via ICSI and all 6 of them continued to mature.  Five days later we returned (me with an extremely full bladder) for our Embryo Transfer on November 1st.  One of our embryo's was an extremely high achiever getting the highest rating they give out (which is very rare) so that is who we transferred. The transfer was so surreal and getting to watch the whole thing on the TV monitor was pretty cool!
So as of November 1st, I was officially pregnant until told otherwise.

Egg Retrieval

Day of Transfer

(Three of our other embryos were developing well so they were put into the freezer and we had two more that they felt needed an extra day.  Unfortunately one of the two didn't make it to the freezer, so of the 6 fertilized we transferred one and have 4 in the freezer.)

Weeks 2 - 8:

Symptoms: sore and swollen boobs, occasional nausea, strong hunger, and extreme tiredness.  I've also experienced some mood swings and a great discharge thanks to my progesterone supppositories I have to take as part of the IVF process.

Weight Gain: like I mentioned on Friday I had finally reached my goal weight of 105 (and even got below it) but it was fluctuating because of all my hormones.  So I'll say that I started off pregnancy at 106 pounds and since then I've probably gained a solid 2lbs.

Baby's Gender: we don't know yet and honestly can't tell you which we would rather have.  We'll be excited for either and a bit disappointed either way...but we have 4 more in the freezer so I guess we have a few more chances should we decided to be crazy and go for it 😉.  Although we do already have middle names picked out for either gender so that's really exciting!

Emotions: I don't think that my emotions have been too crazy as of yet...but I can't help but think about our very first pregnancy just because this one is shadowing it so much via the timeline.  Our first pregnancy finally happened after some medical intervention of an HSG and then a round of Clomid, Follicle Studies, and a Trigger Shot - but it resulted in a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.  However, the timeline is crazy because this babe that is growing in my uterus is due 3 days later (and 7 years) than our very first pregnancy!! How crazy is that?  So our very first due date was July 17 and our current due date is July 20!!

♥ Ashley

Friday Happenings in December

This week has been jam packed with all sorts of activities and commitments and I don't see it slowing down until after Christmas...but you know what that is what this season is all about - making memories and living life to its fullest (however you see fit).

It's no secret that getting pregnant has been anything but easy for the two of us.  So this past September I took matters into my own hands and made an appointment to discuss IVF and our potential timeline.  I went into the appointment knowing full well that we weren't going to waste time, money and emotions on all the soft less invasive steps - we were going full bore IVF and that was that.  Thankfully my new doctor was on board (given my history) and helped me move things right along...in the very timeline I was hopeful for!  Not only that but my body responded appropriately and at our Egg Retrieval in October we managed to fertilize all 6 mature eggs!!  We transferred 1 embryo on November 1st and on December 1st we got to see it's sweet little heartbeat in the ultrasound!!! So I am so happy to share (the short version) of our IVF success!!  We are expecting our Third child (first uterine pregnancy) to make their arrival in July 2018!  While we are over the moon excited I cannot deny that our excitement is laced with nerves and concern that this pregnancy lasts for the long haul!!

On Wednesday, Thomas and I celebrated our 11th Engagementiversary by watching White Christmas (in the early afternoon...so we could both stay awake to watch the entirety because the last three years one of us has fallen asleep mid movie).  I still remember the day he proposed, I had just gotten home from College the day before for Winter Break and we were getting all set to go see White Christmas at the 5th Ave theatre with our parents.  Before we left he got down on one knee and said a bunch of stuff including "will you marry me?" to which I replied "Yeah, I guess" probably not the affectionate answer he was hoping for 😉. Once I got my bearing a properly accepted his proposal and here we are 11 years later, 9 years into marriage, and 2 daughters and a baby on the way later.

I finally reached my goal weight (and surpassed it by 3.5lbs!) that I set for myself back when we were getting married (9 years ago) this past October!!  I honestly didn't know that it was possible nor that my thighs had the potential to get this thin!!  Ellie has been super obsessed with getting married lately and spotted my wedding dress (that still hasn't been cleaned...) in our closet and insisted I put it on.  I can't believe that 9 years later I look better in it than the day I got married.  But I'll tell you what, this picture is made so much sweeter because I have my two best girls at my ankles!!  And I managed to achieve this just in time to get pregnant and gain all the weight back plus some 😝.

I have my annual Christmas Party scheduled for this weekend and I am so excited for is...I've gotten a lot of RSVPs so hopefully I get my act together and am able to pull off a great party despite the pure exhaustion I've been experiencing lately.  Honestly though I'm trying to keep our decor to a minimum because I just don't want all the "stuff" anymore not to mention how much I despise putting it all away once Christmas and Epiphany are over!

Well that's all the energy I can muster between 5am wakeups for medications, 5:15am wakeups of the girls (yes we all start our days very early), a wild tantruming toddler, and a preschooler who won't stop asking questions!!  Have a fabulous weekend and I'll share more pregnancy details back here on Monday!!

♥ Ashley